A New Age
by KoharaAho
Summary: Years after the first War between the Exorcist's and the Akuma. Peace can never truly last. Rated M for later Chapters
1. Prologue Setting

This is just a backround to lead into the story and its plot.

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**A New Age**

**Prologue/Setting**

A century has passed since the Great War between The Black Order and The Millennium Earl. Though the war did not span a great deal through time the amount of casualties did not slacken. It was during that war at which level 4 Akuma surfaced more frequently, and where the Innocence's developed dramatically among Exorcists. By the end of the war, The Black Order ascended to victory. They defeated The Clan of Noah, which was the earls' most powerful asset.

Unfortunately for the Order the most important enemy, their soul enemy, The Millennium Earl, had escaped. After all the Noah were annihilated the Earl fled into hiding. Though in hiding he did not discontinue the creating his Akumas'. The only difference was the amount at which he distributed.

The Order kept alert and continued on in their normal ways, still though it was much more a time of peace. But there was always the lingering suspicion that the Earl was raising his army again. So teams of Exorcists were always on the move, either killing his Akuma or searching for any clues that may lead to him. The Order searched diligently but was continually met with disappointment.

The Earl hid well.

Throughout the century following the Earl's defeated many things changed for the Order, mainly for the Exorcists. The first Arc that had been apprehended by the Order in the first war, thanks to Allen Walker and others, was studied further and a great deal was learned of it. Scientists of the Order discovered a method to move the Arc without needing Allen, the musician. The method the scientists attained was a program that made it possible for the Arc to move to any location desired by simply using a keypad. Only one keypad exists and it is in the Supervisor's care, he moves it usually but all decision relies with him.

But peace and advancement can only last so long.

Again a century has passed since the Great War where the Black Order first defeated the Earl. It seems now they will have to do the same. The Millennium Earl has returned and brought a new known horror with him. He has a larger amount of Akuma of higher levels and has rejuvenated the Noah Clan with new members. Their powers are greater this time; the Earl has made sure of that. So thus comes the second war that will bring on again… A New Age.


	2. Heavy Eyes and Longing

**A New Age**

**Chapter 1 : Heavy Eyes and Longing**

The long halls of the Black Order were lighted brightly with neon lights that hung every 100 feet or so. The rhythmic sound of feet against smooth stone floor echoed lightly in the deserted halls.

Squinting as she made her way, Hataki Rakuda shifted the folders of mission reports in her hands. Looking up at the lights her face then fashioned a slight frown. She always preferred not to walk the halls of the order at night; the ridiculously bright lights always seemed to give her a headache. Well really she preferred sleeping at night, but with her title and rank that rarely occurred. The Supervisor always assigned her his paperwork, that, he, himself was too lazy to do.

She wondered why she put up with it.

Eventually she reached her seemingly long trek's destination. Fumbling with the folders in her hands she barley managed to open the door without dropping them. As she walked inside, she kicked the door back with her heel. The loud slam of the door that attained her kick sent the sleeping Supervisor shooting upright from his heavily crowded desk of papers. His hair was completely distorted and a red mark adorned his forehead from the papers he had just recently been using as a pillow.

"As the saying goes. Sleep when you're dead, Supervisor." She said simply, trying but failing to hide her irritation and sleepiness. Heading over to the front of his desk she dropped the folders heavily atop the mountain of paperwork that already adorned it. She then copied the motion by plopping down in one of the chairs just as heavily.

The drowsy Supervisor rubbed his eyes and finally took notice of her and the large pile of folders in front of him. He looked at the folders silently with an evident look of disregard. Then, as if forcefully moving his hand, he reached up and grabbed the very top folder. "Did you finish everything?" He asked, his voice raspy, as he opened the folder.

Hataki opened her eyes, which she unconsciously had closed and looked at him. "Yea. Everything in there's done and signed, well stamped with your signature and looked at by yours truly." She said then yawned lightly.

The Supervisor nodded and skimmed through the folder in his hands. "Ok sounds good. Thank you General." He said officially.

Hataki looked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Isamu how long have we known each other?"

"For a while now." He set down the folder and returned her gaze.

"So there's no need for the formalities. Hataki is just fine when it's the two of us."

Isamu smiled and waved a hand at her. "Yea, yea. Got it. Thanks again. You're free to go to your quarters…" he paused just for effect. "…Hataki."

She laughed lightly and rose to her feet to head out of his office. Isamu watched her as she left.

"Oh one thing before you go…"

She paused and turned. "Yea?"

"I have a mission for you. Well actually, I need you to go and assist General Nyoko. It seems she is having some difficulties ridding her area of Akuma."

Hataki nodded, a small smirk made its way onto her face. "She must be annoyed. Did she actually request assistance?"

"No, are you kidding. The only reason I'm aware of this is because her medic contacted me a couple of hours ago."

"What exactly is the problem? I know she's more than capable of killing them, with that unique innocence of hers." She looked at him intently.

"Its not that. All her medic said was that there were some…complications. I don't have all the facts straight but I want you to go take care of this. You need to leave tomorrow as early as possible."

Hataki suddenly looked more tired than she did the moment before. "Ok. I'll leave first thing in the morning. Where exactly am I going?"

"Not far. It's a small town outside of Paris. I don't recall its name."

"Why does that not surprise me? Well ok. I'll be at the Arc at 5 a.m."

"I'll set the coordinates. Good night Hataki."

"That's _General_." She gave him a final glare then walked out.

"Now there's no need to be all pissy Hata…" She slammed the door before he could finish.

* * *

The sun was barely surfacing the horizon, Hataki noticed wholly all too well. It was just another reminder of how early it was, her other was her complete feeling of weariness. All she wanted to do was catch up on her hours of lost sleep. It was thoughts like these that made Hataki wish she were a bear, or anything that hibernated.

She shook the absurd thought away and brought her drifting mind back to reality. It was 5 o'clock sharp, Hataki never liked to be late, and she was already approaching the entrance to the Arc room.

It had been long since the time they had obtained the Arc, the Order that is. It ranged back to the first large-scale war between the Exorcists and the Millennium Earls forces of Akuma and the Clan of Noah, which the Exorcists had won. Their victory had passed a century ago, truly it seemed so much shorter of time. Akuma still roamed the land, so the Millennium Earl still existed. Hataki always contemplated the thought of the Earls return. She knew he would, everyone suspected it. The thing left questioned was when exactly he would. She almost wished he would hurry and save her the unwanted suspense.

Now in the massive Arc room she paused at the entrance and simply just looked at it. It did not matter how many times she had been in and out of the Arc room; it still amazed her. The ceiling was so high that she had to squint to see it, but that didn't matter much because the substantial Arc at the center of the room blocked off most view. The huge cube shaped machine hovered lightly in the air, bobbing up and down smoothly. Redirecting her steady gaze she walked the remainder of the way to the Arc's access ramp. She then walked up the ramp to the entrance.

Traveling through the Arc always seemed to be a blur; over the years the journeys through the Arc had increased in their speed thanks to the scientists of the Order. To Hataki's knowledge there was a whole city inside the Arc, but she wasn't too sure for she herself hadn't yet seen it. The only evidence of its existence was that of people's stories over the years. She was sure some of the higher ups of the Order knew, maybe even Isamu; their little secretes always bothered her.

Hataki was now at the top of the ramp, one more step and she would be in the Arc. She stopped, as she always did to take one final deep breath, for the next step was far more than a mere 2 feet. Then with a single raise and drop of the foot, she was gone.

A low hum rang in her ears and the feeling of falling was fully present. Try as she would, her eyes would not open. She urged them on, focusing all movement to her eyelids. Yet her concentration and will power wasn't enough. It would only be but a few split seconds, then she would be done and out. The pressure of her weight returned abruptly, giving her back her controlled balance. Her eyes finally shot open but to her dismay they looked upon not the Arc's inside, which she truly wished to see. Not wanting to wait she made her way down the ramp onto the grassy ground of her destination. Just as she stepped off the ramp the Arc was gone, back to its room in the Order.

Ahead of her she saw the small town that rested at the roots of pleasant rolling hills. Far in the distance the Eiffel Tower stood tall with the city of Paris surrounding it. She started her normal paced walk down the small slope of a hill toward the town. She was relieved the town was a small one; it would make it much easier to find Nyoko.

_Just in and out. Find Nyoko, get rid of the Akuma, back home, and sleep awaits._ She repeated the hopeful thought.

She reached the edge of the town, where the grass turned to the cobble stoned streets. The small town had a dreary mood; people seemed to walk the streets almost in a mechanical matter. First stop would be the local hotel, or inn if that's what they called it. If Nyoko was having trouble she was sure that her best bet of finding her would be there in her room drinking, or at the bar drinking. This wasn't Hataki's first time coming to assist Nyoko, and she was as sure as hell it wouldn't be her last. Hataki again thanked the fact that the town was small as she caught sight of the inn almost instantly. Stepping in she looked around until her eyes met the bar, which unfortunately contained no Nyoko. She then walked up to the front desk where a big stocky man sat lazily behind. It seemed the inn wasn't visited quite frequently.

Leaning against the desk she waited patiently for the guy. He seemed not to notice her, or much of anything else as he continued to stare off into his own little world. She cleared her throat. Still not a single ounce of recognition came from him.

"Excuse me?" she said politely but loud enough to attain attention.

The guy stayed almost completely motionless except the movement of his eyes to her. Still he said nothing. "Um…I was wondering if a woman named Nyoko was staying here. I'm supposed to be meeting her here in this town and I'm not exactly sure if she's staying here or not." She said kindly.

The guy stayed completely still for maybe a minute or so, then finally spoke. "She's in room 7." No emotion was displayed on his face; it was just the pure simple movement of his mouth. She nodded in thanks and walked toward the stairs leading to all the rooms. The mans oddness of behavior left her pondering it. She'd hardly ever seen someone so… placid. Continuing on she looked for the room, passing few rooms.

_Room_ _5…6…7! Bingo. _She stopped at the room and brought her hand to the fringy doorknob. With it unlocked she turned it easily and stepped in, she didn't feel the need to knock. As she looked into the stuffy hotel room her expression suddenly went rigid. "What the…?"

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Next Chapter: Town Of Whispers


	3. Town of Whispers

_Okay so it's been a long time since I've updated this story... For a while it's just given me a lot of trouble and I had to figure out a lot more details for it. This chapters a little longer then the first but chapters are going to be getting longer and longer._

_All in all though I am very happy to get this story going again! I hope you enjoy!_

_-Ko._

**A New Age**

**Chapter 2: Town of Whispers**

_A week earlier._

"Where the fuck is the bar?" A one Nyoko Shigure uttered plainly, more so to hear her own voice. Going off on far away missions always required lots and lots of alcohol, especially sake, even more especially at 10 in the morning.

Kohara let out a short sigh. "So early Nyoko-sama?"

She turned at him with a glare. "Have a problem with it medic?"

He swallowed nervously. The medic stared back at her pathetically as she came to glare down at him, almost completely flattening him with just an expression. Was it just him or was Nyoko growing? "U-um, of course not G-Gene-"

"Of course you don't"

Kohara almost whimpered. Being targeted with General Nyoko Shigure's menacing stare and voice was in his opinion very similar to the 9th gate of hell. Well if there is one he presumed the two to be similar if not exact. The General laughed darkly at him, then released him from her gaze. Kohara abruptly collapsed. "What about you pup? Got any issues with it?"

Yasashi turned calmly to her answering with almost as much wickedness. "Of course not."

Smiling slightly Nyoko opened the pouch at her hip, withdrawing a small flask. "Well then screw the bar. I forgot that I brought my own." She laughed as she brought the burning drink to her lips, gulping it down like air. Nyoko's face turned serious as she absent mindedly twisted her fire red locks with a finger. "So where the hell is this thing? I'm growing anxious."

"We only just arrived General, I'd give it some time." Yasashi answered her rhetorical question, Nyoko only huffed in answer. He looked down at his partner medic who was still a bit dazed from Nyoko's antics. Kohara was quite unused to the General's ways, and with Kohara being one of a "softy", he doubted the medic would ever get used to it. He smiled at a few memories of his earlier days with their fiery haired general.

"I don't go by any others schedule but mine. "

Yasashi knew the truth in that statement all too well.

"What do you suppose we do Nyoko-sama?" Kohara asked as he rose back up to his feet.

"Well it's obvious that we need to find the pesky akuma. The question is where we begin our search…"

Nyoko looked over the small town that stood in front of them. Its buildings stood high, not Eifel Tower high, but high to the point of three stories high. The buildings were also placed quite close to one another, making her feel paranoid just by their imminence. She continued to take in the town and all its details, the cobble stoned streets, the damp air, and the somewhat high buildings made generally of wood. Most of all, she noticed the unnatural mood that seeped out from the place, crawling up her spine and wrapping itself around her lungs.

"Maybe we should just start here at the town's entrance?" Yasashi said eager to just get them moving. He imagined they looked rather odd and possibly suspicious just standing and staring at the town's entrance.

"Yes, let's go."

The General finally walked into the town with her two medics following close behind.

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Yasashi looked at the freshly baked blueberry pastry in front of him with mild interest. They all sat inside the petite town bakery due to Kohara's continuously growling stomach. Their general had suggested the bakery, which Kohara and Kohara's stomach made no objection to. Yasashi simply didn't care. His mind was focused on everything around him, hoping for a sign of the akuma they pursued. What the file on this mission contained were rumors of a level three taking residence within the city of Paris and approximately 5.34 kilometers extending around it. After having read through and memorized the file he guessed the level three would be in the city itself or west of it. Expediently Nyoko and Isamu came up with the same assumption. With the agreed assumptions their mission led them to the small town of Susurrer. It was one of those towns included in few maps.

More assumptions thus led them to the small café they now all sat in.

Yasashi was tired of assumptions, which was why he was choosing not to assume anything by instead watching and waiting for something to happen. It could be as simple as someone pointing them in the direction of their required akuma or the akuma itself falling from the heavens on top of them (more likely it would come up through the earth from the fiery pits of hell). From first hand experiences he knew assuming eventually led to mistakes. Bad, bad mistakes…

Like when he assumed Nyoko didn't mind four hour train rides where she sat next to a grandma and four kids where she was permitted neither to smoke or drink…

Or when he assumed Nyoko would have no objections to helping the new recruits and giving them a tour of the Order. He had forgotten that would have required patience and charisma…

So with no assumptions there would be no mistakes made. Well less mistakes made then the usual amount.

But when he looked up and saw the expression of Kohara's face he couldn't help but assume.

The younger medic looked at Yasashi's untouched pastry with a longing that Yasashi almost wanted to describe as heart breaking. Kohara had already finished his peach pastry and since everything on their mission was paid for by the order, their expenditures were limited. Yasashi smiled mischievously. "How was your pastry Kohara?"

Being addressed made Kohara promptly move his attentions away from the warm pastry to Yasashi. "Oh mine? It was very appetizing"

As Kohara acted calm (acted being the key word here), Yasashi noticed him move his eyes briefly back to the pastry. Yasashi held in a smirk.

"Are you still hungry? You're welcome to have mine"

"Oh no I couldn't, it's yours ah-and, I'm stuffed anyways! There's no way I could eat another bite of anything!"

Yasashi sighed, slumping a little. "Aw well that's too bad. I don't want it but… I would hate to waste such a _delicious_ and _freshly made_ pastry." He accentuated the delicious and freshly made.

Kohara's eyes brightened and Yasashi had to hold back another grin.

"Well since I really don't want to see any food go to waste I guess I could have some of it. Only if you're absolutely certain you don't want any more!" Kohara added shyly, just as his stomach growled.

Yasashi couldn't help but smile that time. He pushed the baked good towards the hungry medic who then hesitantly began to eat said good.

As Kohara ate merrily Yasashi looked over to their general who sat quietly, completely deep in her thoughts. Her long elegant fingers were at their usual place in her extravagant red hair, twirling the ends apprehensively. She did seem a bit nervous but he could also see a growing determination in her eyes.

"I'm going on a walk. See you guys in a bit." Nyoko said as she rose hastily from her chair. Before either of her medics could say a word she was out the door.

"I never know what Nyoko-sama is thinking." Kohara stated in frustration as he stared at the front door that their general had just left through.

"I hate to break it to you Kohara but that never changes." He placed a hand on the younger medics shoulder in comfort.

* * *

Nyoko was really starting to detest the town Susurrer. With its close in proximity buildings and close in proximity people and it's lacking in size, the towns appeal was nowhere… which made the fact that she couldn't find the_ akuma, _anywhere, even more detesting.

The place was like 10 blocks long so where the hell was the stupid thing!

Yasashi's words of patience from earlier then echoed in her head _"It'll show itself eventually. We just need to wait until then…"_

After being her medic for so many years' she would think that he knew by now patience was not Nyoko's _forte_. But yet he never failed to throw in a word or two about the "art of persistence". She'd like to show him a few things about her version of persistence.

It had only been a couple hours since their arrival in Suserrer; her logic had decided just then to inform her of such. She then, with a snort of defiance, pushed back into its little crevice at the corner of her brain where it belonged at that moment.

A little itch of pain tore at her stomach suddenly making her mood even sourer. She reached for her flask to take a big swig, only to be acquainted with a small drop of her desired liquid. "Son of a bitch…" Obviously someone had it out for her.

As she painstakingly stomped down the street blind to everything around her, it was much to her surprise when a powerful push slammed her backwards onto her now sore behind. She looked up to see the culprit who had run into her also on the ground a bit stunned. With her fist up she was about ready to explode on the man with a fit of adulterated name-calling. Before her mouth could go on its merry way the man looked up at her, causing her to freeze. His black eyes gazed stalwartly at her through his long silver locks that fell into a mesh around his face and shoulders. The contrast between his dark eyes and paper white skin made his stare even more looming.

Before the general could move a flash of silver played before her eyes. When her vision came to refocus she was still on the ground with her fist remaining in its position high in the air and the man gone. She turned, looking in every direction to find he was nowhere.

She rose to her feet a little shakily and brushed the dirt on her uniform off with her eyes still roaming the area with regard. _Who the hell was that?_ Nyoko had never seen someone like that in her life. What made her wonder even more was why she froze up so easily. Anger slowly swelled up in her but it was small enough for her to keep at bay and control. She decided to make use of the emotion and directed it toward her mission where her mind should be. Not on some random stranger that surprised her, whether she'd like to admit it or not.

The general part of her took over then, putting into display the entirety of what she knew from her exploration of the small town. There was really nowhere for the akuma to hide so that must mean that this particular one had some sort of intelligence… or meant that it was not even in Suserrer anymore. If the akuma was still here though, then there was a reason behind it that was at the moment beyond Nyoko's knowledge.

As the general stood and pondered an elderly lady holding a basket of fruit bumped into her shoulder, throwing the both of them off balance. The basket dropped roughly to the cobble stoned streets, dispersing the fruit like confetti into the path of few passerby's. They reacted slightly and stepped over them without a word or motion to help.

At that point Nyoko's wire had been lit and had now burned to the point of no return, releasing an honor worthy detonation.

"Why the hell does everyone in this town find it hard to walk the streets without ramming into someone!" steam spewed out of her ears.

The elderly woman looked at her with real terror and whimpered, trying to get words past her trembling lips. She backed up slowly, her manner similar to a lion's soon to be lunch.

"I-I…m s-sa sorr…" before the frightened woman could finish her apology she ran away, leaving her basket and fruit behind.

Nyoko paused for the second time that day in a slight present feeling of bewilderment. It was no news to Nyoko that she was a bit intimidating…well maybe scary at times but she'd never had someone run away from her in fear for their lives. Well if she didn't count a few medics, some akuma, the supervisor that one time… when he forgot to mention that her quarters had been blown to a pulp during her time on a mission due to one of his scientific malfunctions (she had returned to a room of ash). By the end of the day the supervisor was missing a shoe, a jacket sleeve, some hair, and if she remembered correctly his left eyebrow.

It was still a bit odd that the old lady reacted so strongly, she hadn't thought she'd been that bloodcurdling.

At that moment she chose to really look around at all the people that walked through the streets. Now that she focused on them she noticed the small things she had missed before. They all held a skittishness about them, getting around in almost a mechanical demeanor. It was a little unsettling but at the same time intriguing.

After becoming conscious of her prolonged time of just standing and staring the hot headed general walked back towards the direction of the opposite end of town where she had a feeling her two medics would be. There was a lot she felt behind this certain mission, complexities that needed discovering and at that time she felt they were already displayed in front of her. She needed to sit and think for a while; come up with some plans to make up for the ones that were lacking the instant they started this mission.

Pulling out a cigarette and match from her pouch she lit up and inhaled the smoke of what she liked to call bliss. She continued her swagger through the stuffy streets with her hands safely inside her large coat pockets and a cigarette held loosely in her lips.

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Next chapter: Mirror Image


End file.
